Mother Dearest
by Annabeth The Unicorn
Summary: When Hiccups Mother, Val, Returns from her nine-year Quest, there are a lot of things she needs to get used to...
1. Arrival

A/N: This is the result of letting my sleepless mind wander at Three-O-Clock in the morning. I started thinking about Hiccups mother, Valhalarama (hereby nick-named Val), and what she would be like. I don't know if this will be a one-shot or if I'll continue it. I'll need inspiration to continue first. Got any ideas? Leave them in a Review!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: If you read something in here, and you go "I don't think she owns that", I don't. Got a problem with that, bud? Wanna fight about it? Let's take this outside…

* * *

Newcomers.

Stoick hated them. Even the word was stupid, newcomers, newcomers, newcomers. Every time an unknown ship entered the docks, there had to be evaluations, identification, and a lot of other big words that Stoick did not understand, but which seemed to make perfect sense to Hiccup.

This particular day, Stoick had been awoken from his much-needed sleep, and told that there were newcomers. A meeting was to be held in order to decide what to do about it.

So there he sat, in the Meade hall, waiting for everyone to arrive, so that the meeting could get underway. He silenced all the chatter with one definite yell of, "SILENCE, YA GREAT OAFS!", and turned to Gobber.

"What island are these newcomers from?" Stoick asked, Deadpan. He looked around the table to see that Hiccup was nowhere to be found. Where could that boy be at this time of night? Or was it morning? He had no idea.

"Well, you see, these really aren't so much "newcomers" as… I don't know how to put this... Old-comers? Returners?"

"What are you trying to say, Gobber?" He said, now intrigued.

Gobber opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the slam of the huge hall door, which echoed throughout the room.

"STOICK!" Someone yelled, angrily.

All. Faces. Turned.

The source of the voice was a muscled woman, with astonishingly red hair and emerald green eyes, which were currently staring daggers right at the chief of the tribe of Hairy Hooligans. She was approaching them fast, and even Gobber looked scared. Stoick saw that she appeared to be dragging his son along, by the scruff of his neck.

"D-dad, I swear to Thor, I had n-nothing to d-do with this." Hiccup stammered out.

The woman took no notice.

"I left you with simple instructions, Stoick! It was not very hard to comply! Six words! SIX WORDS! I ask one thing of you before I leave! And- and you just-!"

Realization hit the mighty chief like a ton of bricks, he had heard this voice before; seen those eyes. Yes, he had, Nine years ago, when she had taken off on a quest. She left when her son was a mere four years old. The one, he soon realized, she would not return from. But, here she was, really here. He was in so much awe; he barely registered what she was saying.

"Va-" He never finished his syllable. He was cut off by a smack right on his head.

"I can't trust you with anything!" She nearly screeched.

The whole of the Meade Hall looked on this conversation with interest. While everyone else seemed absolutely horrified, Gobber was cracking up. Finally, Stoick got a word in. Literally, a word, singular.

"Val?"

"You bet you're finest axe, it's me! And I'm extremely disappointed in you!"

"You've been here a good five minutes, what could you possibly have to be angry about?" Stoick questioned.

"Stoick," She replied, a bit calmer now, "Do you remember what I asked you to do for me when I left?"

"Um…"

"Thought so." She said menacingly, "It was a simple request, really. Only six words." She examined her nails.

"What was it?" Stoick asked.

"I said," Stoick could swear the woman was about to explode, "And not I'm quoting! I said 'Keep our son in one piece.'"

Stoick had, in the supreme overwhelming-ness of the moment, momentarily forgotten his son's presence in the Hall.

"Well," Hiccup said, trying to make an escape. "This was certainly an interesting experience. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go flying in order to forget this morning ever happened. See Ya!" He tried to scramble away, but Val caught him by his metal prosthetic, dangling him up-side-down in front of his father. That woman was stronger that she looks, and she looks pretty strong.

"Whoa!"

"Now, can you honestly tell me that this is one piece?" She asked.

"Um…" Stoick was still trying to take this all in, and his mind was only sub-par when it WAS focused. For a long moment nothing happened. And then a gruff voice spoke up.

"D'ya see any oth'r pieces?" Gobber asked.

"What?" Val asked.

"It's not like there are many pieces, only one."

"Hello? Dangling here!" Val dropped Hiccup on his head. He got up with a grunt. "Thank you for killing those brain cells. Didn't need those!"

Val laughed and pulled her son into a hug.

"I've missed you."

"You too, mom."

Stoick was touched by this plainly un-Vikingy display of affection.

"So much has changed! Oh!" Hiccup said with a realization. "You need to meet Toothless! He's my best friend! I'll go find him!"

As he ran out the door Stoick stepped closer to his wife.

"Am I forgiven?"

"Maybe." She said, smiling. She leaned in and kissed him, and then she sighed. "It's good to be home. I told you he would grow out of his unsocial phase! Look at our son now! This Toothless fellow sounds like a very nice young man. Best friend…"

"Oh, Val" Stoick said, "You have no idea."

* * *

A/N: Please review! Should I continue this? :D


	2. Discovery

A/N: I got so many nice reviews I just have to keep going! I don't actually have a consecutive plot, so it'll just be a set of drabbles that I will update whenever I have nothing better to do. Other than this story, I have a few other story ideas. I'm thinking a sequel to "How To Train Your Dragon: The Musical" [which will either be with the old OC's or new ones, vote on my poll], another chapter story involving people called "The Checkers", and a series of song fics. A lot of you asked why Val didn't notice the dragons on the way towards the Meade Hall, so this is the first chapter from the point of view of Valhalarama.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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It had been a long nine years.

And now she was finally going home. She wondered how Stoick had faired, raising their son alone. She hoped he didn't have too much trouble.

Then there was Hiccup. He'd be thirteen by now; she'd missed nearly all of his childhood. He and Stoick were the only things she wished she'd never left. She rubbed the bridge of her nose. How much had changed in the time she was gone? Was anyone even still alive?

She looked up through the fog to see the distant shape of Berk approaching slowly. She nearly whooped in joy! Just a little further and she'd be on the shores of home.

* * *

Villagers approached their ship as if it was from some alien island, which, Val realized, was probably true. They had been gone a long time. No one recognized any of them.

She took in the sights, the smells, and the cacophony of muttering people. She just stood, staring, and watching her crew unload things from the ship, until she saw it. Well, she heard it first.

_Thud, tap, thud, tap, thud, tap._

They were footsteps, obviously. They could be compared to the footsteps of one of Val's good friends, Gobber, but these where different. These where more squeaky; more mechanical. Plus, they weren't as loud. They were softer, and smaller.

The boy was small for his age; he had reddish hair and deep emerald eyes, but the thing that gave it away was the helm he wore. It wasn't just any helm; it was the one she had fixed as the twin to her husband's. There was only one person who would wear it.

"Mom?" He sounded unsure. She felt tears spring to her eyes. All she could do was nod. He ran (or hobbled) into her arms, and she felt happy tears slid down her face as she hugged him, smiling wider than she ever had. "So much has changed! You have to-," as he spoke, he took her hand, leading her towards the village.

_Thud, tap, thud, tap._

She felt her blood boil. Her poor child. He was perfect, absolutely perfect in every way! Why had such a thing happened! She felt herself be over come with rage.

"Where's your father?" She asked, letting some of her anger show in her voice. Hiccup jumped.

"I think he's in the Hall." He said. She grabbed his arm and started dragging him towards the Meade Hall. "Are you mad?" He asked. She stopped walking, and faced him.

"Oh, Sweetie, not at you, But I need to speak with Stoick." She said with a sad smile. "He has just a bit of explaining to do."

"Huh?"

She was so angry, in fact, that she did not respond to any people greeting her with open arms, and it came to her later that she had total tunnel-vision, a DRAGON could have flown by, and she wouldn't have noticed.

* * *

She slammed open the door.

"STOICK!" She did not even notice that he was in a meeting, or that every eye in the place had turned to see what she was doing.

"D-dad, I swear to Thor, I had n-nothing to d-do with this." Hiccup stammered out.

"I left you with simple instructions, Stoick! It was not very hard to comply! Six words! SIX WORDS! I ask one thing of you before I leave! And- and you just-!" she was pissed to say the least. It was like he completely ignored her whenever she talked. Even now he wasn't listening. He was just staring at her like he saw a ghost!

He tried to speak, but she was not about to listen.

"Va-,"

"I can't trust you with anything!" she said.

"Val?"

"You bet you're finest axe, it's me! And I'm extremely disappointed in you!" She crossed her arms and turned from him.

"You've been here a good five minutes, what could you possibly have to be angry about?" Stoick questioned.

"Stoick," She replied, a bit calmer now, "Do you remember what I asked you to do for me when I left?"

"Um…"

"Thought so." She said menacingly. Men! They were all daft! "It was a simple request, really. Only six words." She examined her nails.

"What was it?" Stoick asked.

"I said," she could hardly hold back from punching him then and there, "And now I'm quoting! I said 'Keep our son in one piece.'"

"Well, This was certainly an interesting experience. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go flying in order to forget this morning ever happened. See Ya!" Hiccup tried to scramble away, but Val caught him by his metal prosthetic, dangling him up-side-down in front of his father. What little decency She had, she felt slip away.

"Oh, no you don't!" She said.

"Whoa!"

"Now, can you honestly tell me that this is one piece?" She asked.

"Um…" Stoick was just staring at her, blankly! The nerve! She had asked him a question! And then a gruff voice spoke up.

"D'ya see any oth'r pieces?" Gobber asked.

"What?" she asked.

"It's not like there are many pieces, only one."

"Hello? Dangling here!" Val dropped Hiccup on his head. He got up with a grunt. "Thank you for killing those brain cells. Didn't need those!"

She laughed. Of course, the boy had inherited Val's tongue and Stoick's courage to use it. she hugged him. And said the only words she could think to say.

"I've missed you."

"You too, mom."

When we pulled away, Hiccup had a huge smile on his face.

"So much has changed! Oh!" Hiccup said, He was adorable. Her son. "You need to meet Toothless! He's my best friend! I'll go find him!" He ran out of the room.

Best friend. He had a best friend! She couldn't wait to meet him. There was just one matter to take care of first…

"Am I forgiven?" Stoick asked her tentatively.

"Maybe." She said. She looked at him, just as handsome as the day they met. She couldn't stop herself from leaning in and kissing him. Then she sat and began to chat.

"It's good to be home. I told you he would grow out of his unsocial phase! Look at our son now! This Toothless fellow sounds like a very nice young man. Best friend…"

"Oh, Val" Stoick said, "You have no idea."

_Hm,_ She thought. _Well that's cryptic!

* * *

_

A/N: Sorry, I wrote this at one in the morning, and I screwed up the POV. I tried to fix it, so I hope its better now. A lot of people wrote saying they didn't like this chapter because they wanted to see the Toothless-Val confrontation, to all those who did... PATIENCE! ITS COMING! I just had to clear up a few things in this chapter. The next one should be up soon. Review!


	3. Explanation

A/N: Here it is! The long awaited meeting between Hiccup's mother and dragon! Enjoy! And I really hope I don't fail to meet your expectations. There seem to be High expectations for this story. Very high, considering that _**I AM 13!**_ Anywho, enjoy!

It is it 3rd person omniscient, because I'm sick of being Limited. LOL, Annabeth made a funny!

Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.

* * *

"No idea?"

"You have no idea."

"As you said." Val was getting a bit creeped. Not scared, Vikings don't get scared, but creeped. Why did Stoick have such a mischievous look on his face?

Stoick laughed. He could not wait to see his wife's reaction when she found out who her son's best friend was. Maybe she'd run. Wouldn't that be a sight?

The door slammed open, and a huge black dragon flew into the room and started doing complicated in-the-air acrobatics that showed hours of practice. Stoick felt a wave of pride sweep over him. Val on the other hand… Well, do you remember when I said Vikings don't get scared? I was exaggerating. She screamed. Wouldn't you?

The dragon landed right in front of her. She wondered why none of the others had drawn weapons. Were they crazy? _Well_, She thought, _Maybe they have a death wish, but I sure don't! _

She drew her axe and raised it above her head. Then she noticed something. Sitting atop the dragon's back was none other than Hiccup. She paused mid-swing.

When Stoick saw an axe swinging dangerously close to his only son's head, he freaked. He jumped and talked Val to the floor, leaving the rest of the Meade Hall (with the exception of Hiccup, who had happed off of Toothless and was trying to help) laughing hysterically.

"That's… that's a…. that's a…" Once on her feet, the Viking seemed to be unable to form whole sentences.

Stoick turned to his son. "Didn't you explain the situation to her?" He asked.

"I thought you were going to while I was getting Toothless!" Hiccup was in shock, this was not how he planned it. He thought that Val would understand immediately, and want to train a dragon of her own, not swing an axe at him.

Val composed her thoughts.

"THAT'S A DRAGON!" She turned to Stoick and looked him in the eye. "Why were you… How did he… Huh?" Yes, Valhalarama the well-endowed was a very Viking-y Viking, but she just could not believe her eyes.

"Val-,"

"Gods! You leave for nine years, and no one even bothers to tell you why your son is riding a dragon. I-I think I am going to faint." She put a hand to her forehead.

Stoick sighed, and turned to the audience of Vikings that had been in the hall for the meeting. "Out! Everyone out!"

Mumbling and grumbling, the men and women of the village filed out of the Hall, but unseen, five people remained, hiding under a table. Stoick looked at Hiccup, and then at Val and realized that he was supposed to start talking now.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning, we needed to train new recruits to protect the island while the others where off searching for the nest…" Astrid propped up her head with her hand.

She turned to Snotlout. "Why are we doing this again?" she whispered.

"Because," He replied in a not-so-whispery whisper. "I want to see Hiccups mom's reaction, and you want to make sure I don't do anything stupid!"

"Peer pressure." Fishlegs said.

"Butt-elf here didn't think I was brave enough to stay, so I'm gonna prove him wrong!" Ruffnut said.

"I'm here to make sure she stays." Tuffnut said.

She sighed, and tried to tune out Stoick's voice, she had heard this story enough. Unfortunately she failed.

"…But Toothless managed to get there in time, and he saved him. We attacked the dragon, and then we strapped him to a boat, and it lead us to the nest…"

Snotlout stood up. "You forgot something!"

"Idiot!" Astrid said, trying to pull him down.

"Astrid?" Hiccup looked at her.

"Hiccup!" She said. "I promise I had nothing to do with this!"

"Wow, very discrete, Genius!" Ruffnut said, punching Snotlout on the arm.

"Sit down, Bird-brain!" Tuffnut said.

"We are in so much trouble!" Fishlegs said. "I told you guys we should've just left! Now we…"

Snotlout pointed at Stoick. "He forgot something!"

"If I had both feet, I would kick you so hard." Hiccup said.

"Keep talking like that and you'll end up with no feet." Snotlout retorted.

Toothless did not like that. He only had minimal understanding of Norse, Hiccup usually talked to him in Dragonese; he definitely understood what the Dark-haired boy had said. He approached his hatchling and sat on his haunches, wrapping his front legs around the boy's neck in what was, Val guessed, probably the dragon equivalent of a hug. Then he glared at Snotlout, and growled.

"Oh, threaten poor old gimpy, why don't you?" Hiccup said. "And see what happens."

"What's this about leaving something out of the story?" Val asked.

"Very well." Stoick said, "I guess I have no choice now."

* * *

"See that? Hiccup asked Snotlout, gesturing to his father getting pummeled by Val.

"Yes." He said.

"THAT'S WHY WE LEFT IT OUT!" He said.

"How could you just disown our son? You heartless, Mean…"

"Whoa!" Ruffnut said.

"No one heard that!" hiccup said, holding his hands out towards the watching teens. "Nobody better repeat that word! Mom? Mom! Come on!" He desperately tried to pull his parents apart. "Oi, Vikings, do they ever give up?"

"We are a very stubborn people." Fishlegs said.

"At least let him finish the story!" Astrid said, begging.

"Argh! Fine!" Val said, pulling away, and sitting down, but glaring at her spouse.

"Where was I?" Stoick asked groggily through a swelling lip and black eye.

* * *

A/N: OK, ending it there for now, sorry, but this was a long chapter, and I couldn't find a way to end it. Review!


	4. Cryptic

A/N: Alright, this is _**really**_ short, I know, but bear with me here, you will be grateful for this chapter later on.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

* * *

_Bump._

Val awoke in an instant. She scanned the dark room, looking for the source of the strange noise.

"Hello?" Nothing. "Who's there?"

_Bump-Bump._

She reached for the axe which she always kept next to her bed. It was gone. She felt a hand cover her mouth.

"You cooperate," A high-pitched and altogether evil-sounding voice said. "And I won't harm you or anyone else. Okay?"

She slowly nodded.

"Great."

* * *

A/N: You will like this. I actually found a pretty good plot, so I'll keep working. Maybe one other chapter today. Maybe…


	5. Leaving

A/N: Yeah, Yeah, I know this is a late update! But I had major writers block for a while, speaking of which, I want to thank my great friend **Being Girl** for giving me this plot bunny! Even if it was in a bit of a round-about way… I hope this doesn't let you guys down; this chapter is mainly a set-up for the big conflict. Major twist alert! BTW, a lot of people favorite or Alert this story, but don't leave a review, and I've gotten more reads for this story than for any of my others. I really encourage you to review and tell me what the heck it is I got right!

Disclaimer: Hiccup may be MINE (Heh, Heh, inside joke), but I do not own the rights to him or any of the other HTTYD characters.

* * *

"You're leaving again?" Hiccup asked, staring hopelessly up at his mother.

She felt the tears sting the backs of her eyes again, but she was determined to stay strong. She didn't want to leave, but the goal of the mission had not yet been fulfilled.

"_COWARD," She yelled after the man, who was running at full speeds away from the village. "Come back and fight, like a Viking!"_

_She was about to run after him to exact revenge, when she felt a firm yet gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned to see her husband staring after the same man._

"_Val, Relax. We will form a group to go after him. He burned down our village, we will get revenge." Stoick said._

"_Let me lead the party." She responded without missing a beat._

_Stoick turned to his wife. He didn't want her to go, who would care for their son at only four years? However, he knew that once she had an idea in her head, she could be as stubborn as himself. Then he said the two words he would come to regret for the next nine years._

"_Very well."_

"Believe me, Hun, I wouldn't go if I didn't have to. This guy burned down the village; we can't have people thinking that the Hairy Hooligans have gone soft."

"Soft…" He repeated in a bit of a daze.

"Maybe it won't be as bad as you think!" She said.

"You just got here, though. Couldn't you stay a little longer than Thor's day*?"

Today was Tyr's day*, which meant that Val was leaving that day after tomorrow.

"I'm sorry." She said, Pulling her son into a hug.

"I just don't understand why we can't just let it go. This guy could be dead already!"

"We have to make sure. But like I said, Maybe it won't be as bad as you think." He pulled away.

"How could it not be as bad as I think? I may not see you for another nine years!"

"It's possible." She said with a sigh, as Hiccup stared at the ground. "Unless, you'd like to come with me…" He lifted his head and stared at her, eyes as wide as saucers. "Of course, Toothless could accompany us. I would just have to clear it with…"

"I don't want to go." He said, not letting her finish. "Its not that I don't desperately want to, its just that…" He looked away, towards the ocean, "I have a life here. Friends, and dad, and… I just couldn't leave. If you had asked me a few months ago I would have gone, but not now that everyone respects me, it would be like betrayal. You understand, right?" He looked at her with pleading eyes. She looked back with a wise smile. "Besides, I'd just slow you guys down."

"I completely understand." Hiccup let out a breath of air that he didn't know he was holding. "Unfortunately, you may not have a choice." He froze.

"W-what?"

"I've heard about the way you were treated here, and I just don't think your father is fit to be a parent." She said simply. His mouth was agape, and he looked at her, horrified. "I'm sorry, but I won't leave you here. It's painfully obvious that I can't trust Stoick with raising a fly, let alone our child." Hiccup felt his hands ball into fists. His father wasn't perfect, but he had all of Hiccup's respect.

"Dad will never allow this, dad will-," She cut him off.

"You seem to be forgetting that you're my child too. I have as much right to spend some time with you as he does."

"'Some time'? It could be years!"

"We can come and visit!" Did she not understand that this was his home? He grew up here, and now she was just going to rip it away from him. She couldn't do this, she just couldn't. Yet, she could, and the worst part was, he was powerless against it.

"Please, you can't just-,"

"Listen, you're not going to break me! I've been thinking about this since I got here, and it was a hard decision, but I believe I'm doing what's best for you."

"But…" He searched for the words. He wanted to drop to his knees and beg her to let him stay. He wanted to run off until she left, so that she couldn't take him. He wanted to…

But what difference would it make? Once a Viking got an idea in they're head, it was near impossible to change their mind. There was nothing to be done.

"Oh, Hiccup." She said, "I know how much this must hurt, but you will understand everything when we leave. I promise."

* * *

A/N: So there it is! The big twist! What will happen next? Will Hiccup find a way to stay in Berk? How will he tell Astrid? Will Stoick really take Hiccups side? What is up with me and rhetorical questions? Find out next time on TOTAL DRAMA… oh, wait that is the wrong fic… I don't even watch that show. What would posses me to… Whatever.

**HEY, YOU THERE!** THAT'S RIGHT I'M TALKING TO **YOU**! GO CHECK OUT MY OTHER STORIES! SERIOUSLY, NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE READ THEM, BUT EVERYONE WHO DOES SEEMS TO ENJOY THEM. I REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO CHECK OUT MY PROFILE, AND READ SOME OF MY OTHER STORIES. PARTICULARLY "How to Train Your Dragon: The Musical" IT WAS MY FIRST CHAPTER FIC.

REVIEW!

*Thor's Day= Thursday, Tyr's Day= Tuesday


	6. Confrontation

A/N: I know you guys like this story for some unknown reason. If you have any idea why so many people like it, please review and tell me! Also, there is this amazing author called Quille, They have written a bunch of stories and I really encourage you guys to check them out! This is in 3rd person omniscient, and I have to say, this chapter is not very funny. Sorry if you are reading this for just the comedy, but subtle things in this chapter will be very important later on. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD. I could claim it until I was blue in the face and that wouldn't make it true.

* * *

Stoick the vast, OH hear his name and tremble, ugh, ugh, ets. ets. Could not believe his ears…

"You come home after nine years, just for a _visit_, and now you want to not just leave yourself, but also take my only son?" He stared at his wife incredulously. "Haven't you destroyed our family enough?"

"Well, I promise you that at least when he's with me, you can trust he will keep all his limbs!" She said, coldly. Tears began to well in her eyes.

The two angry Vikings were standing face to face in the chief's home; Hiccup was sitting on a bench to the side, his head swinging back and forth to look at the speaker, as if he were watching a tennis match. Toothless was playing on the rafters, enjoying himself thoroughly, completely oblivious to the exchange below. With every sentence the argument got louder and angrier.

"You wench, how could you bring that up again! Have you a heart of stone? I thought you had gotten over this…" Even after the time that had passed, this was still an open wound for Stoick.

"Yes, you chop off my son's foot and I'm perfectly fine with it, perfectly fine!" Had you been in the room at the time of this fight, you would be able to hear the deep sorrow in Val's voice, as if her own foot had been cut off.

"It's not as if I wanted to! It was damaged beyond repair, you heard the story!" He was repeating the rationalizations he had told himself over and over. And the words Hiccup had said to him when he awoke… _There's nothing you could have done! _But his son was wrong. He could have done so much. Listened, was one thing. He also could have stopped him from going up there, but that was all in the past…

"Maybe if you had listened to him in the first place, he never would have had to do something so dangerous!" It is truly hard to comprehend what it must be like to be a mother in this situation, but her voice said it all, the pain, the Tightness, all her feelings; all her emotions.

"Don't you think I know that?" Stoick felt like with every word she spoke, his heart was being wrenched out of his chest. "Don't you think if I could go back, I would? I would have listened! I let all my anger control me; I said something I didn't mean; I screwed up."

"That's all fine and well, but you're not the one who has to pay for your mistake, are you? No, the person hurt the most was your- our son!" Stoick looked down at Hiccup who seemed to be finding the ground very interesting.

Hiccup felt like this was his entire fault. If it weren't for him, his parents would probably be happily skipping through the roses. They wouldn't be fighting.

"You can't just take him away from me." Stoick said, laying a hand on his sons shoulder. "He's all I've got." The boy looked up at him with sad eyes, Eyes that filled Stoick with new motive to keep him at home. "And what does he want, did you ask?"

Val glared at him. This was strange; Stoick had never known her to glare like this. Playfully? Sure. Angrily? Sometimes. But this? This was a sort of full-on resentment that Stoick had never seen from his wife. The glare was gone as quickly as it appeared, though, and she kneeled down, so as to be eye-level with her son. Her voice was sugary sweet, but with a malice that was just as unrecognizable as her glare. She gripped Hiccup's arm, not lovingly, as she had done so before, but more controllingly.

"Hiccup, Sweetie, you want to come with your mother, don't you?" He said nothing, and she clenched his arm tighter, that same unrecognizable malice dripping from her voice. "Don't you?" Her grip was starting to hurt now.

Hiccup had only known his mother when he was very small, but he knew she hadn't acted this way before. He couldn't meet her eyes, couldn't speak under her controlling stare, he only shook his head. She released his arm.

Val looked at Stoick, and then back at Hiccup.

"Stoick, I will-,"

"I don't care!" He interrupted her, "You could come with a Viking military one Million strong, but you will remove my son from Berk; his home, against his will, over my dead body!" Val looked shocked, Hiccup's jaw dropped, and Toothless gave a whoop of agreement. For a long moment, all was still. Then Val took her bag from the table and swung it onto her shoulder.

"This is not over, Stoick." She said, turning to leave. "This is not over by far."

Hiccup looked up at his father, who was rubbing the bridge of his nose. He had always hated fighting with his wife. She had seemed so different; he supposed nine years could change a person… nine years and one particularly nasty shock.

"Dad?" Stoick looked down at him, and Hiccup looked away. "Did you really mean that?"

The big Viking smiled, although you couldn't tell through his beard, and pulled his son into a hug.

"Every word."

* * *

A/N: AW! Sweetness! Fluff-Fluffity-Fluff-Fluff-Fluff! Review!


	7. Kidnapped

A/N: This is my most suspenseful story yet! It has come so far from being a one-shot! A note to all you Val fans out there, you will find out why she is acting this way! Have faith in the Annabeth! Anyway, so I'm about to go into serious practice for my show "13" Which I mentioned in my other story, "Sig-Along Drabbles". So, updates may become slightly less frequent. I will try to do as many chappies as possible without rushing through them. Because whenever I rush, you get crap. MAJOR twist alert here! Takes place the next morning. _Italics are Dragonese_.

Claimer: None to be found, not in existence. I do not own HTTYD.

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"Get up, you big lizard." Hiccup said, yawning and trying to wake his friend. "It's morning time. We have a- a-," another yawn. "A big day ahead of us."

Toothless turned over and spoke to him in the Dragon's original tongue.

"_Five more minutes!" _

"We'll be late for breakfast, and there won't be any Cod left!" Hiccup said.

"_Murph."_ Was Toothless' reply.

"Whatever, Meet me in the Meade Hall?"

"_Yeah, uh huh, whatever."

* * *

_

The early morning light came in through the open doors of the Meade Hall. Hiccup took a seat with the other teens in the village that he had come to consider friends. Fishlegs was there, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Astrid. He yawned. Sleep hadn't been found the night previous, because Val's words seemed to echo in his head all night long.

_This is not over by far._

What had she meant by that? How far would his parents let this accelerate? He let his forehead rest on the table.

"Look out, walking dead." Hiccup groaned. Tuffnut said. Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Astrid looked up, to see what he was referring to; Snotlout was too absorbed in his chicken to really care.

"He isn't really walking, is he?" Fishlegs contradicted.

"Do you always have to be so precise, Fish?" Tuffnut asked, exasperated. Fishlegs had a habit of pointing out the obvious, that and quoting random books all the time.

"I'm just saying-,"

"Shut up!" Astrid snapped. She turned to her Boyfriend-but-its-complicated, and stroked his hair gently. "What's up?" She got a grunt in reply. "Is this about your mum?"

"Mm hm."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She was only slightly annoyed at the fact that he wouldn't open his mouth to talk to her like a normal person, after all, since when has Hiccup been normal? Ever?

"Mm, mm."

"Well, don't just keep me in the dark!" Her voice rose a bit.

He turned his head; eyes closed, and said "Shhhhh," Putting his finger to her lips. Then he turned his head down again, his arm falling to his side, wile the other blocked the light from his eyes. She giggled a bit, but then sighed, going back to her porridge.

"That was informative." Fishlegs said, looking bored.

"You heard the boy, shut your pie-hole." Ruffnut Drawled, Shoveling more fish into her mouth.

Val approached the teen's table. She had a rather big basket swung on her back, and she was wearing extra layers. This was the day she and her crew were to leave Berk on hot pursuit of the monster that burned down their village. The young Vikings jumped when they realized her presence. Astrid Punched Hiccup, probably harder than necessary, in the arm.

"Ouch!" He saw his mother and stood, a little too fast and tumbled over the bench. He picked himself up, and tried to look unfazed… Failing horribly.

"Uh, h-hi," He always seemed to stammer a bit when he got nervous. Astrid actually found it cute.

"Can we talk?" Val asked. Her tone was soft, but forceful. She didn't sound controlling, as she had the night before, but more determined. Even this made Hiccup uncomfortable.

"Um…"

"Listen," she said, looking him right in the eye. "I know I was pushy, and I didn't listen to you." He looked up into her eyes, hanging on every word she spoke. "I would be a hypocrite to be angry with your father for not listening, when I am guilty of the same crime. I haven't been completely honest, and I ant to change that. No more lies, just the truth." He looked away, he wanted to believe her, he really did, but it all just seemed so strange; her sudden change of heart. "Please?" Hiccup looked into his mothers eyes and could see she was being sincere. All his doubt evaporated. He nodded.

"Yeah, sure." He said. The two walked out of the Meade Hall. Hiccup was still rather weary of her, and wasn't sure how much to trust her, but he followed anyways. Maybe he had a little too much faith…

Val led Hiccup to an ally, so that they would not be overheard. It was dark, so all he could see was her outline. For a moment that seemed to last an eternity, no one spoke, nothing moved, and all was still. Hiccup finally couldn't stand the silence and shattered it.

"Go ahead." He said.

"Right." She replied, putting her basket down, and stretching her arms. "The truth." She turned to face him, wearing the same glare he remembered from last night, but this time it was accompanied by an equally as terrifying devilish grin. He wanted to run, but it was almost like he was paralyzed with fear. She reached behind her, bringing a club out of its sheath. "I am truly sorry for this, you're a good kid. I'm sure your parents are very proud."

"Y-you would know." He said, confused. "A-aren't you o-one of them?"

"No, sorry, it was one big misunderstanding." She looked at him. "You look scared." She raised the club above her head. "You should be."

"You mean-!" He never finished. The club came down with great force, right on his head, knocking the poor boy out cold, with only a small yelp. Blood spattered the ground.

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A/N: HAHA! Cliffy! T-t-t-that's all folks! At least, that's all for this chapter. There will be more! How much more of this story makes sense now? Please review! I love ya's! Tell you what, if I get a review today, I will post the next chapter today!


	8. Plan

A/N: Something you didn't see before! Every good fight needs a battle plan, but these teens just can't agree on anything! Starts right after Val and Hiccup leave the Meade hall

Disclaimer: I do not own httyd.

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"Looks like everything ended up for the better!" Ruffnut said, cheerfully.

"Knock on wood." Astrid said. "I don't trust her." She stood, leaving her food behind. "See you guys later.

Following Hiccup and Val out of the Hall was an easy feat for her. Astrid had learned from her father, one of the best soldiers of Berk, how to be stealthy. She kept her feet moving quickly and soundlessly.

She followed them as they made there way through the village, eventually turning into a ally. She peered around the corner.

"Psst! What do you see?" Astrid turned to see Snotlout, hanging over her shoulder.

"Move your head, Bird-brain!"

"Look around it, Slime-hands!" The twins were not far behind him.

"We're gonna get in so much trouble!" Finally Fishlegs was taking up the rear.

"Can I go anywhere without being followed!" I asked in a sharp whisper.

"Sorry, Astrid." Snotlout rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, just shut up! And don't say anything dumb this time!"

She couldn't understand what the two were saying, but she saw every action. When Hiccup fell to the ground it was like everything went in slow motion. Was he dead dying? No, a hit like that couldn't kill a person. She wanted to run to him; to help, but she knew if she did it would blow their cover, and the same may happen to them. Or worse. So she waited.

Val, if that was this woman's name, picked up Hiccup's limp form and placed him in the basket. Astrid could see blood drip from his head. He was small, and the basket was large, so the Woman-who-was-once-known-as-Val had no trouble. The imposter wondered how the hero, the son of Stoick the vast, the great pride of Berk, could be a boy so tiny; so miniscule. She put the basket back on her shoulders and walked out of the ally. Her job was done.

The teens were in shock.

"Astrid," Snotlout said quietly, once the woman was out of earshot. "What are we going to do?" She turned to see that the whole group was looking to her as if she had all the answers.

"Why are you asking me?" She asked.

"Well, usually we'd ask Hiccup, but he can't really help us right now." Fishlegs said, in a voice barely over a whisper.

She thought about this.

"Well…" She said, as the young Vikings leaned in closer.

"We should tell the chief!" Fishlegs said, louder this time.

"We don't have time for that! By the time we reach him, that woman could have taken Hiccup half-way to Timbuktu!" Snotlout said.

"Well, what do you suggest?" Tuffnut said.

"I say we go after them ourselves! We can't let that monster take our buddy!" Snotlout replied.

"We can't just rush into something like that without a plan!" Ruffnut protested.

"Uh huh, and who is the person who always comes up with these fiendishly clever plans? I'll tell you, he is currently being kidnapped by someone who we all thought was his mother!" Fishlegs said.

"He's been Hiccup-Knapped!" Ruffnut agreed.

"What?" Tuffnut said.

"Nasty Hiccup-Knapper!" Snotlout said, crossing his arms.

"We're wasting time here! We have to tell the chief!" Fishlegs said frantically.

"No, we have to go after them!" Snotlout said.

"Let's put it to a vote." Astrid said resolutely. "All who want to tell Stoick, raise your hand." Fishlegs Raised his hand. He looked pleadingly at Ruffnut, who sighed and did so as well. "And all in favor of saving Hiccup ourselves?" Tuffnut and Snotlout raised their hands. "Uh, Well, it's a tie."

"Ruff, Come on, Join our side! Don't you want to be a hero?" Tuffnut said.

"You're doing this just for fame?" Ruffnut replied, "That's low. We need to tell the chief, not just because he is the only person who can do anything useful, but also because he's Hiccup's dad. He has a right to know these things!"

"Blah, blah, blah! What can The chief do that we can't? We have our dragons, we can fly after them, grab Hiccup, and get out of there before you can say 'Son of Odin'!" Snotlout said, smoothly.

"Oh yeah?" Fishlegs said. "And what if she has boarder defenses on the boat? How do you expect to get passed those?"

"We play it by ear! When have we ever failed on a crazy mission like this?" Tuffnut put in.

"We always succeeded on those crazy missions because we had crazy plans!" Ruffnut said. Astrid didn't know Ruffnut had such logic in her.

"Well we don't have anyone to make a crazy plan." Snotlout replied.

"Shut up!" Astrid yelled. Everyone turned to look at her, silent. "Look at us, guys. Hiccup has been gone for less that five minutes, and we can't agree on anything." Everyone's eyes looked downcast.

"I miss him." Ruffnut said, sadly.

"Me too." Tuffnut said. Wow, Astrid thought, this must be big for the twins to agree on anything.

"We all do." Snotlout muttered.

"Then, come on you guys." Astrid said. "Because if we can't pull together, we may loose our favorite toothpick for good." The teens were silent for a moment.

"Lets split up." Fishlegs said. "Some of us go tell the chief, some go after Hiccup and Val."

"Okay," Astrid said. "Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut, you guys go and tell Stoick. Snotlout and I will go after Val. got that?" A consecutive nod. "Good, now go," Ruff, Tuff, and Fishlegs ran off towards the Meade hall. "And hurry! I don't know how much time we have!"

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A/N: Yup, that's it for now. I wanted to highlight how well this team would function without their fearful leader. And no, fearful is not a typo. I would like to point out how the other kids say "The Chief" while Astrid says "Stoick" This portrays her fearless character. I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who has reviewed this story for all your support! Thank you, you guys are the reason I write! And thanks to everyone who has this on their favorite or alert story list! To all the rest… REVIEW!


	9. Introduction

A/N: Is anybody else as pissed as I am that Httyd LOST the Oscar to Toy story 3? I'm gonna be honest, so don't hate me for this, but I didn't like Toy Story 3. And inceptions musical score had a total of one note! "BUM!" I'm getting off topic. Ok, I literally have NO ideas for this chapter. Yet, the Snotlout in my head is telling me to run with it so… I'll do my best. I know this story is filled with twists, but at least no one can say I'm predictable!

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

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"Well?"

"Well, What?"

"The kid, Nerma, Where's the kid?"

When Hiccup awoke, he was aware of a pain in his head and two loud voices that weren't making it much better. He blinked pen his eyes and looked around. Wherever he was, it was pretty dark and cramped, the only light shone in through pin-prick sized holes all over the… eh, wall.

"Relax, Alvin. Have I ever let you down before?" A beat. "He's in the Basket."

It all came back to him then. His mother had wanted to talk to him. Only, she wasn't his mother. Hiccup heard the shuffling of feet. The man kicked the basket over, and the boy went tumbling out. He blinked, observing the man above him. He had pitch-black hair, piercing eyes, and a high-pitched voice. Where his hand should have been was a shining hook. _Wow_, he thought, _a hook, that's not cliché at all_. The man smiled, and it was no ordinary smile. Hiccup could tell easily that there was something evil in that smile; something… off.

"You're awake." The man said, deadpan. Hiccup sat up, not saying a word. He knew it was best not to converse with kidnappers. If you do, you end up dead. He looked past him, to see the woman who had kidnapped him. The evil dude turned to her. "He's awake. You obviously didn't hit him hard enough!"

"He's just a kid, Alvin." So that was his name. Hiccup imagined this was a name he would not soon forget.

"What did I teach you?" Alvin said. The woman sighed.

"No mercy." She muttered.

He turned back and studied the boy in front of him. "Hm, I expected more from the great hero of Berk. Rather small, isn't he?"

"Yes sir, but-" The woman was cut off.

"Shut up! And take off that stupid disguise! You look ridiculous!" she sighed, and to Hiccups utter astonishment, she placed her fingers at the base of her jaw, and pulled away what appeared to be a mask and wig set of some sort. She also stepped out of her boots, which made her look at least a foot taller, and dropped some pillows from under her shirt. Revealing from underneath, a tall woman with short black hair. She looked about eighteen.

"Whoa." Hiccup said.

Alvin snorted. "Nerma Indigo, she's the best make-up artist in the whole Archipelago. Does a decent disguise too..." He turned to the woman. "Take this one below, will you? I have better things to do that worry about some snot-nosed little brats like you two." He turned away, leaving them alone. There didn't appear to be anyone else on the… what Hiccup now realized was a Viking long-boat. He stood and peered over the edge of the ship. They were already a long way from Berk, he couldn't see anything but ocean in all directions. The woman took his arm, leading him away from the edge.

"I'm sorry, I really am." She said, pulling him towards the back of the ship.

"What's going on?" He asked, fear emanating from his voice.

She looked in the direction of where Alvin had disappeared, and, obviously making a decision, replied. "Your mother, Val, she set off on a quest to find Alvin, because he burned down the village."

"That much I know." He said.

"Yeah, but what you don't know is that she found him. He ran from her crew, and fell into an angry dragon's lair."

"OO! That's gotta hurt."

"Yeah, that's how he lost his hand. The rest of the crew left him for dead and went home. He wasn't dead. But he didn't blame your mother. Well, not just your mother. He blames the whole tribe. So, ever since he crawled out of that Den, he's been planning his revenge." Hiccup really did not like the sound of this.

"The plan was rather complex." Nerma continued. "He waited until Val got home, then he told her if she, and the rest of her family, wanted to live, she'd come with him. That's where I come in. I disguise myself as your mom and Try to… well; it should be obvious now what I had to do."

"How are you connected to Alvin?"

"I was taken from my village when I was little."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"So, where is she now? The real Val."

"She's on the ship, in the same place I'm taking you."

"I don't understand. Why did you kidnap us?"

"It's all part of Alvin's master plan. See, with the addition of you, we have currently, on this ship, everything that the Chief of your tribe cares about."

"You're going to blackmail my dad?"

"That's the plan, anyway."

"What do you want that he has?"

She sighed. "Gold. Freaking gold."

"Oh."

"And even after he gets what he wants, he'll probably still kill you."

"What?"

"Don't worry, I am going to help you two escape." She said with finality.

"Really?" Hiccup said. She nodded. "Don't take this the wrong way, I'm grateful and all, but Why?"

She turned and looked the boy right in the eye.

"Because I am sick of being that man's puppet. Plus, you're not a bad kid, you don't deserve this."

"Thank you." He said.

"The only problem is that I have absolutely no idea how." Hiccup sighed. It always came down to him to make the plan, but it was nice to have a pair of eyes on the inside.

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A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry if you hated it, there was no action, and no comedy… I think I've failed you guys. I'm sorry, but this introduction to characters had to be done! Review! Tell me which part you hated the least!


	10. Promises

A/N: Running with it. I'm going to try and let the story write itself, bear with me here. This first bit is just Astrid and Snotlout rambling, but I wanted to add some humor so… yeah. Enjoy!

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"It's no good, Astrid." Snotlout said, after what felt like an eternity of searching. "They could be miles away by now. I'm worried Hiccup's a goner."

"What? The great Snotface Snotlout Jorgeston is worried about his cousin?"

"You know what I mean!" He turned a bright shade of red.

"Yeah," Astrid replied. "I'm worried too; I just wanted to make fun of you."

"Well, then can I make fun of you?"

"No, I have a right to be worried, he's my boyfriend!"

"Okay," Snotlout said reluctantly. "Let's turn back; see what Stoick's planning."

"Sure." They flew in silence for a while, before Snotlout had an epiphany.

"Hey," He said.

"Yeah?"

"If Hiccup dies, _then_ will you go out with me?" Astrid looked horrified.

"Why in Thor's name would I give you motive to kill my Cuppy?" Snotlout stifled a laugh.

"Heh, heh, Cuppy."

"What?" Astrid countered. "Every good girlfriend has a nick-name for their boyfriend, and I couldn't exactly call him 'Hiccy!'"

"I see your point." Snotlout said, as they landed on Berk.

* * *

When the teens had split up, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut had all but sprinted towards the chief. It took then longer than expected to find him, and when they finally did, Fishlegs was running so fast he stopped just short of running into the giant man.

"Chief!" Tuffnut half-yelled. "We have some dees-tressing news!"

"You mean distressing." Fishlegs said.

"Whatever! Hiccups been-,"

"Hey, I'm gonna tell him! I'm way better at doing this sort of thing! Girls are much more sensitive than boys!" Ruffnut said, as if she was stating fact.

"No, I'm gonna tell him, because if you don't let me, I'm gonna punch your face in!" Tuffnut retorted.

"Oh, what? You wanna go? I'll kick your butt!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Shut up, the both of you!" Stoick said.

"Sir," Fishlegs said, realizing that the twins may take all day. "Hiccup's been kidna-,"

"Hiccup-knapped!" The twins yelled together. Stoick's face went from one of annoyance, to fear, to regret to determination.

"Who?"

"It was Val, although, we don't really think she was the real Val! We saw her take him, with our own five eyes!" Tuffnut said.

"Um… Two times three is six, not five." Fishlegs said.

"Yeah, Idiot!" Ruffnut said, crossing her arms.

"And are we counting Snotlout's and Astrid's eyes? Because that would make it-,"

"I don't care!" Stoick said, getting frustrated with the teens. He took a deep breath. "Which direction did they go?" Astrid and Snotlout landed and ran towards the conversing Vikings.

"Uh…" Fishlegs seemed to be thinking.

"The ship was headed west, but whoever was steering that thing weaved in and out of rocks and places with openings much too low for dragons and… in short, we lost them."

Stoick rubbed the bridge of his nose. What was he going to do? He had promised Hiccup this wouldn't happen. He should have been paying more attention. What struck him as odd was that Val had never acted like this before. The kids may be right; maybe she isn't Val at all. And in that case… Where was she? Maybe his celebrating her spared life was short-lived. Maybe she was dead all those years… or else, whoever it was that took Hiccup had Taken Val too. Could it be Alvin? No, that would be too terrible for words. If it was Alvin then… He didn't want to think about it; he wouldn't think about it. The important thing now was to focus on saving his son, and possibly his wife.

"Tell the men to ready the ships, and the dragon riders to collect their gear." He said to the teens. "We're heading west."

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A/N: That was a bit short, but it turned out better than I thought it would. REVIEW!


	11. Guilt

A/N: Somebody asked about Toothless, so I Decided to start out this chapter with a little freaking-out Night Fury.

Disclaimer: I own an action figure for Hiccup and Toothless, the Double DVD pack, the movie poster, a Breast hat, a tee-shirt, all 8 books (with the ninth on pre-order), and pretty much everything else, but , alas, I do not own the rights to How to train your dragon.

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Toothless wasn't ready to get up yet. He tried putting a paw over his eyes, but the light that seeped in through the open window was hard to ignore. He groaned.

"_Hiccup, close the curtain, the sunlight is too bright."_ Nothing. He opened his eyes a smidge and looked to the bed beside him. _"Hiccup?"_ His hatchling was gone.

Oh, yeah, Hiccup had gone to breakfast, and Toothless was supposed to meet him there when he awoke. He sighed. Now he had been woken up by that nasty sunlight, there would be no more sleep to be found. He stood; Hiccup was probably waiting for him anyway.

Toothless arrived at the Meade Hall and poked in his massive head. He didn't see Hiccup, or any of his little friends, or his father for that matter. Perhaps it was later in the day than he had originally presumed.

The dragon left the Meade Hall. Where could his hatchling be? He decided to check the forge, but on his way, he saw all of the other dragon's charges speaking to his hatchling's father. Many of them looked particularly stressed. He heard a bit of conversation, most of which was nonsense to him, but he did understand simple things like "Hiccup". One word which seemed to come up a lot after "Hiccup" was a strangely pronounced word: "Trouble". He knew this to mean some sort of misfortune.

"…We're heading west." The larger Viking said.

"Right!" Four of the children said, before running off towards the ships.

Toothless bounded towards the remaining people, the large Viking, who Toothless had come to understand was "in charge" as Hiccup put it, and the feisty female who seemed to enjoy the company of his Hatchling more than the rest. Maybe they could tell him where the hatchling was.

He crooned at the girl, hoping to make his question obvious.

"Oh, Thor, Toothless, I completely forgot!" She said, looking down sadly at the reptile. "You'll want to come of course." She looked pleadingly at Stoick, who nodded solemnly. Toothless looked up at her, confused. He just wanted to know the whereabouts of his hatchling. "Toothless, Hiccup's in trouble."

There it was again. The mighty Nigh Fury felt his heart tighten with worry. Was his hatchling hurt? Was he dying? What if he was dead? What were they waiting for? They had to help the poor thing! Astrid sensed the change in the dragon's mood, and tried to calm him.

"We don't know exactly what's going on, Toothless, but he's been k-,"

From about thirty meters away, he heard the three other children turn and shout "HICCUP-KNAPPED!"

"Yeah," Astrid said uncertainly, "Whatever, we just need to focus on getting to him. We didn't have any luck in the air, so we're taking a go from the water." Astrid herself was clouding her own mind with strategies, to avoid letting it wander to what the kidnappers could have done to her Boyfriend. She was hiding her emotions behind a battle plan.

Toothless was making no attempt to hide his feelings. Astrid could see them very well: Anxiety, fear, guilt, and determination. He couldn't help but think that this was his entire fault. If he hadn't been so lazy in refusing to get up, then whatever terrible, mean, nasty, soon-to-be-dead fiend would never have gotten their slimy claws on his hatchling. He felt a growl well up in his throat. He wasn't sure if he was angrier with himself or the person who had took his hatchling. Definitely the latter. That guy, whoever he or she was, was going DOWN!

* * *

"So, tonight Nerma will distract Alvin," Hiccup said, turning to the teen, "While mom and I sneak out via a lifeboat located at the back of the ship." He finished, turning to Val.

Val nudged Nerma on the arm, and pointed to Hiccup. "See that?" She nodded. "That's my son!" Val giggled, as if she had just won the lottery. "What a strategist!"

"It was actually a pretty simple plan…" Hiccup trailed off, blushing slightly in the dim cabin light. He had been so overjoyed to find out that the hard glare Nerma had given him had not come from his real mother.

Nerma could not have been less interested in the affairs of mother and son. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're smart, she's proud, blah, blah, blah. I'll come back when it's dark, so that you will have cover to escape. Just remember to be quiet! I'll see you tonight." She left the room with a flip of her Red hair. It was beyond Hiccup how she had managed to change its color yet again. At first it had been Black, then Blonde, and now Red! It was like she just couldn't decide.

He turned away, deciding not to think about hair, when there were more important things to ponder. He noticed that Val was looking at him, smiling rather sadly. He blinked at her.

"I'm so proud of you." She said. Hiccup couldn't help but notice that although she'd only been around a few days, and even less, considering the time she was really there, she'd told him that more than his father had in thirteen years. "I wish I had been there, to see you grow up."

"Yeah, you and me both, mom."

"And taking down a gigantic dragon? That was an accomplishment of epic proportions!"

"Well, I had help."

"So modest, too!"

"Please." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry! But it's hard not to see the best in your own child! First Viking ever to tame a dragon…"

"Train."

"What?"

"Train a dragon, dragons can't be 'tamed' they'll always be wild, undomesticated creatures, but they can be 'befriended'."

"Intelligent too." He let out a laugh. It was almost as if they weren't being held captive at all, the way she was talking. However, one question went unanswered…

"Why didn't you try to escape before?" Hiccup asked.

"Alvin said, if I did, that he would harm you. I wouldn't be able to bear having that on my shoulders so I just… stayed. I knew… I mean…" She became lost for words, reaching out to the air as if it could tell her what to say.

"I know what you mean." Said Hiccup, who barely grazed the surface of understanding. She smiled at him. "Don't worry! We'll get out of here, get back to Berk, and then we can be a real family! You, me, dad, and Toothless!"

"Toothless?" Val said with a laugh.

"Yes, Toothless will be part of our family too!"

"Whatever you say." They heard a loud knocking, and someone yelled down at them.

"Keep it down, prisoners!"

Hiccup looked helplessly at Val, and the rest of the afternoon was spent in silence.

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A/N: There we go! Chapter… whatever chapter I'm up to. I hope you liked it! REVIEW!


	12. Fault

A/N: I am so extremely sorry for the long wait! I was swamped with 13 and Homework and everything else in my life! NOTICE: I am going to Disneyland with my choir, I will be gone from the 10th to the 15th, so I won't be able to update for a while. Please enjoy this chapter, It was the best I could do for now!

Disclaimer: I own nothing at all!

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_Your fault, your fault, all your fault!_

The same phrase seemed to repeat endlessly in Stoick's mind. It was the same thing that had happened to him after the Battle with the Green Death. The guilt building up inside, seeming to all channel into a singular phrase.

_Your fault, your entire fault, all your- all your- all your fault._

The voice changed, Stoick realized. First it was Hiccup, then Gobber, then the one that hurt most of all, Val. He would have described it as a broken record, if he'd known what that was.

_Y-y-your, your, all your fault a-a-a-all your f-fault!_

Stoick sighed and looked out towards the ocean. The boat rocked slightly back and fourth. He was old enough, that after years of being out on the sea, he no longer ever got seasick, but not he felt a definite lurch in his stomach.

He turned from his own musing, to see the friends of his son, sitting near the mast. They had been searching for hours, and the sun had started to fall beneath the horizon. The teens' dragons had stopped for a break, flying was a hard task.

The one called Fishlegs was snoring softly, leaned up against the mast. His nephew, Snotlout, was dozing slightly, in the in-between state of awake and asleep. The Hofferson girl was pacing quickly and quietly around the group, looking on the verge of a mental break-down. The twins were in a whispered argument. Lastly, the black dragon was curled in a ball near the opposite edge of the boat, looking very depressed. Stoick didn't think Odin himself could cheer the poor thing up. Most of the teens had tried, and failed. He supposed the dragon felt the same way he did.

Stoick sighed. "Perhaps we should call it a day, and head back." He said softly.

"What?" Astrid stammered. "No! No, if we go back now we'll never catch them! We have to keep looking! Hiccup could be in trouble!"

_All…_

Snotlout had come out of his daze, "Yeah, chief!" He said. "We can't go back! Not after how long we've been searching! Maybe they docked at a neighboring island."

_Your…_

"Please, Stoick, don't abort now! We could be so close!" Astrid looked pretty determined. Stoick looked at the intent faces of the teens, and then at the ocean again. He felt like if he'd just paid a little more attention… If he could go back… If…

_Fault!_

"No." He said quietly to himself. He would not allow himself to feel this way. What's done is done, and he couldn't go back. The important thing was that Hiccup needed him, right now. He would not let his son down again.

He spotted a small island to the east of the ship. "Dock over there, we'll start searching all the small islands around this area. We'll go by sky and sea, to make quick progress. Well? What're you waiting for, an invitation? We don't have time to dawdle! Move!"

* * *

But Stoick was wrong, for Alvin's ship was still at sea, heading for a destination unknown to mother and son.

"So, how do I distract him anyway?" Nerma looked less than enthusiastic about their operation.

"I don't know!" Hiccup knew his plan would work, but it seemed like she needed every detail spelled out for her. "Tell him… uh… tell him…"

"Tell him you thought you saw a sea monster off the front of the ship! He'll run to see, and we can then get to the lifeboat!" Val cut in. He gave her an appreciative nod. Looking up at the darkening sky, he could tell the time to execute the plan was upon them.

"Yeah, tell him that!"

"Great, good, When? Now?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Now would be nice." He said sarcastically.

"Alright, count to twenty, which should give me enough time!" Nerma said resolutely.

"Twenly? Are you sure?"

"Please, I could do it even faster if I wanted."

"Okay…" Nerma smiled mischievously.

"I'll _accidentally_ forget to lock the door." She gave a wink and climbed out of the hold.

3… 4… 5… 6…

Hiccup looked at Val as he counted in his head. She gave him a reassuring smile.

9… 10… 11… 12…

They remained silent, listening to the racket being made above.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Nerma's voice was so squeaky; it was too high-pitched to be called a squeal.

13… 14… 15… 16…

"A SEA MONSTER! A FRIGGEN SEA MONSTER! ALVIN, COME HERE, QUICK!" Hiccup placed his hand on the unlocked door.

"Be careful." Val said in barely a whisper, placing a hand on his shoulder. He nodded.

"Nerma, what's wrong?" Alvin said, clearly annoyed.

18… 19… 20! He quietly raised the door and climbed out, Val following not far behind. As soon as he left, he knew something was wrong.

"What the…?" Alvin was not at the front of the boat at all, but at the back of the boat, about three feet from where Hiccup now stood.

* * *

A/N: Yay! A cliffy! I'm so cruel. Sorry! Alright, so I'll make a deal with you… Review and Hiccup will live. If not… well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Love you guys! REVIEW!


	13. Fight

A/N: Sorry for the slow update, Like I said I was at Disneyland with my choir until Monday, and I was swamped with school work. OH! So in my English class, we're doing a poetry assignment where you choose a theme, and then do a bunch of different types of poetry that apply to the theme! Can you guess what I chose? That's right, "How to train your Dragon!"

Disclaimer: Which, by the way, I don't own.

* * *

"Oh," Nerma said, "You said the FRONT of the boat, didn't you?"

Hiccup slapped his forehead. "Whose side are you on?"

"Wait, you were helping them?" Surprisingly, Alvin did not look angry. He just looked very confused. Nerma tackled him to the deck of the boat.

"Run!" Val didn't need telling twice, she grabbed Hiccup's arm and they ran to the nearest lifeboat. Lifeboats were a luxury that most Viking longboats lacked; this included the ones on Berk. Because of this, Hiccup and Val found it was a difficult feat to get the thing in the water.

"Screw it," Val exclaimed, "I'm cutting the ropes!"

"Wait, we can't leave without Nerma!" Hiccup said. She had done a lot for them in the short time they knew her, even if she did kind of mess up his plan. The boy's strong morals would not allow him to desert her.

Val looked from where Nerma and Alvin where brawling to her son's worried face.

"I'm sorry, there's no time!" She said, looking apologetic. She took out her knife, and in one swift motion, cut the ropes attaching their little boat to the one that had held them captive.

At the last possible second, Hiccup grabbed hold of the edge of the Boat, and pulled himself aboard.

"Hiccup!"

"Don't worry," He yelled down to the smaller boat below. "I'll be back as soon as I can!" Then his head disappeared from view, as he ran toward the fight.

Val just shook her head. "That child will be the death of me."

"That's what I keep saying!" Came a voice from behind her. She turned, even though she didn't have to, she would recognize that voice anywhere. "Climb aboard." She nearly laughed out in delight.

"Stoick!"

* * *

Hiccup edged cautiously around the corner to see what was happening. Why wasn't Alvin putting up a fight? He just looked thoroughly confused. Then, Nerma whispered something harshly in his ear, and he looked resolute.

He threw her off him and stood to his full height.

"How dare you betray me?" Now he looked really pissed. "Was it not I who took care of you all these years?"

"Please, you were trying to control me!"

She threw a punch, which he dodged, but she kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling to the floor. She raised her sword high above her head. He grabbed a stray plank and blocked the swing with it. He rolled away and got to his feet.

Now he was a hairs length away from where Hiccup stood. Luckily, he was turned toward Nerma, with his back to the boy. But, because this is Hiccup we're talking about, Alvin turned.

"What the…?"

"Oh no."

"What in Thor's name are you doing here?"

"I uh…" Alvin gripped his sword, but Hiccup looked past him, at Nerma as she ran at Alvin, screaming a war cry, and raising her sword.

Hiccup retreated further behind the wall, so that he could no longer see the Fight. A blue ball of flame came from nowhere and smacked Alvin in the chest. This accompanied by Nerma's quick sword work, and the guy dropped to the ground.

"Nerma?" He saw her panting, glaring down at the unmoving body of their captor. She looked at Hiccup.

"That was just the distraction I needed!"

"Uh…"

"Where to, Genius boy?"

"Is he…"

"Oh yeah, he's dead."

"Well, That's… good… I guess." He looked at her suspiciously.

"Yeah." She looked at him expectantly.

"Oh! Right! Come on, the boat's over here!"

The two ran to the side of the ship, scanning for the dinky little thing that they were to escape in. While they didn't see the lifeboat, they did see Stoick the vast and his wife, Valhalarama, standing onboard a Viking longboat, waving.

* * *

"I was so worried!" Val said, as she nearly lifted Hiccup off the ground in a hug. "That has got to be the stupidest thing you have ever done!" Hiccup looked up at her.

"Hello, trained a Dragon?" Val released him as Toothless Tackled him lovingly, licking his face almost non-stop. "Speak of the devil…" He said lovingly.

"_I'm sorry! I shouldn't have been such a lazy-butt dragon! If I had come with you none of this would've ever happened!"_

"Don't say that! I don't blame you at all! Besides, you were the one who shot that fire, weren't you?" Toothless nodded proudly.

"_Nobody messes with my hatchling!"_ He said.

"Alright, Second stupidest thing you've ever done!" Val said.

Hiccup thought for a second. "Well, I did face a dragon the size of a mountain."

"_And scare the crap out of me!"_

"Third!" Val said. Hiccup got to his feet.

"And there was this other time-,"

"_The list goes on and on…" _Toothless rolled his eyes.

"Let's just say, it was an extremely stupid thing to do, and you are lucky to be alive."

"Haven't I heard that before?" A five dragons landed on the deck of the ship, and Astrid jumped off a Nadder's back and ran to her boyfriend.

"Astrid-," She punched him.

"That's for worrying me!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

"And that's for-,"

"Everything else?" He guessed. She smiled.

"_Dude, PDA!"_

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"_Public displays of affection! Gross!"_

"Says the dragon that just stopped licking my face!"

"_That's different!"_

"Hem, hem, eh hem, hem!" Stoick cleared his throat.

"Oh." Astrid blushed and let go of Hiccup. The other teens approached.

"Come on!" Snotlout said. "You're not dead? How will I ever get a girlfriend at this rate?"

"We're all glad you're okay too." Fishlegs said.

"Well, isn't that nice? I knew our son would have friends that aren't dragons!" Val said. The Night Fury growled. "Not that I don't love Toothless."

"_Nice save."_

"Friends?" Stoick asked, the question at Val. What it really meant was _'Are you blind and deaf?'_

"And a few friends with benefits." Astrid said.

"It's getting late, we should head home." Stoick said, trying to get off the subject.

"We should start planning a wedding!" Both teens' faces went red.

"What?" Snotlout asked.

"Oh Oh, can I be you're best man, Hiccup, can I please!" Fishlegs looked over exited.

"Aw! Good for you two!" Tuffnut said.

"No one is getting married to anyone!" Astrid clarified. "Yet."

"HOMEWARD BOUND!" Stoick said, heading for the front of the ship.

* * *

A/N: so there you have it! I had so many good Ideas for the reunited scene, I hope you enjoyed it. REVIEW!


	14. Pieces

A/N: FINAL CHAPTER! Ahhh! This has been a wild ride, I've got to tell you! I cannot believe this was originally going to be a 1-shot! And now… I have reached over a hundred reviews! I want to thank everyone who reviewed and everyone who read and everyone who gave me plot ideas when I wrote myself into a corner! This was such a great experience, and I hope you guys will continue to read my stories!

Disclaimer: for the very last time, [sniff] Annabeth The Unicorn does not own How to Train your Dragon. However, she has the T-shirt in the mail!

* * *

Hiccup opened his eyes. He yawned and sat up. Judging by the lack of light streaming in through his window, it was the early hours of the morning. He looked down at the black mass of wings and limbs that was Toothless. His dragon was going to wake up and be hungry soon. Hiccup would need to get some fish from the village square.

He decided against saving the job for later, in favor of getting it done, and then maybe going back to sleep. He hopped out of bed, and swung the nearest basket over his shoulder, being wary all the while not to wake Toothless.

As he ventured to the big bowl of fish in the middle of the village, the sky slowly lightened. By the time he arrived, it was a lightish purple color.

He opened the basket and proceeded to load in fish. He chose many of Toothless' favorites, including Cod, Mackerel, and Salmon. As he tossed in the final fish, he noticed the sound of footsteps. He turned.

He'd gotten used to the sight of Nerma among the other villagers, but why she would be this hour was beyond him. He closed the basket and swung it on his shoulder. She had yet to notice his presence.

"Hey!" he said in greeting. She jumped.

"What're you- I mean why are- Why are you up so early?" She stuttered awkwardly.

"I was getting fish for Toothless, you know how much Dragons can eat and all." He noticed a pack at her side. "Where are you going?"

"I'm… um, I'm leaving. Time for me to go. Your dad was kind to let me stay for as long as I did." Hiccup blinked at her.

"Well, he couldn't just leave you to fend for yourself. Plus, he felt bad for interrogating you so much."

"Not a trusting one, is he?"

"Nope."

They stood face to face for a long time, neither moved. Hiccup thought back to when he was on Alvin's boat. He had wondered for a while afterwards why it was so easy to kill such a notorious villain, especially because he was known as a great swordfighter. It didn't seem realistic.

And the whispering… It could have been that she had really just been threatening him, like she said, but something about that didn't seem right.

Hiccup felt like he was trying to assemble a puzzle, but he was missing a piece. Like it was right outside of his reach.

Then something clicked in the boys mind.

"Well," Nerma said finally. "I better get going. I'm no good at goodbyes, that's why I'm leaving so early, but I guess a handshake would suffice?"

She held out her right hand for Hiccup to shake. He took it. Her hands were calloused and rough. This was the last piece of the puzzle.

She made to leave but he stopped her.

"Wait." He kept his composure sturdy, he didn't want to show any fear. "That man you killed wasn't Alvin, was he." The smirk that grew on the taller Viking's face was enough of an answer for him. "That's why he was so easy to kill."

"Smart boy, I am surprised it took you so long, though. I expected more." He started to walk away.

"You were never interested in money or gold were you?" Hiccup said, piece by piece it was all coming together. "But then why-?"

"Why did I capture you, only to help you escape?" She laughed. "It was all a test. I wanted to see what I was up against, and I must say, Good show, Hiccup, good show!"

"Up against?"

"I heard from a soothsayer." She said, pacing. "That I was capable of many things, wonderful things! But there was an obstacle standing in my way. An archenemy, if you will. And I don't suppose I need to tell you who that is, now do I?" Her smirk widened. "So yes, I wanted to see what I was up against."

Hiccup's head was swimming.

"My mother-?"

"Was in the right place at the right time." She said. Hiccup realized that his eyes must have been the size of dinner plates.

"Make-up, huh? The best in the business?" He said.

"Well, I don't wanna toot my own horn, but…"

"I guess you couldn't hide your hands." Nerma fixed him with a skeptical look. "Those calluses, they could have come from anything, right? But you don't get calluses from doing make-up or hair. And I'm guessing those ones came from sword fighting." She smiled.

"I'm impressed." She said. "So it appears you know the big secret."

"Yeah." He looked up at her. The look in her eyes was almost… proud. Another piece of the puzzle came into place. He knew this was the last one. "And… thank you."

"For what?" She looked disgusted.

"That guy," he replied, "That actor you got to take the roll of Alvin, he wasn't expecting to get tackled. I'm guessing he wasn't expecting to die either. You killed him to make my mom think Alvin was dead, so that she'd stay on Berk; so we could have the family I'd always wanted."

"That's… ridiculous."

"His death went by too easily, No mastermind wouldn't see that coming. In fact, that was the first time I noticed something was off." She looked taken aback by his rational, but she smiled. She also clapped her hands three times slowly.

"Nothing gets past you!"

"I would hope not."

"Well, I'll be going now," She said. She turned away from him, towards the docks and started walking. Before she was completely out of sight, she yelled something over her shoulder. "But, mark my words, this won't be the last time we meet, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III."

He smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Alvin the Treacherous." He turned towards his house, carrying Toothless' fish, and glad that things could go back to normal. For now, of course.

* * *

A/N: Wow, I like this chapter! Let's see, who saw that coming? Show of hands! Alright. Once again I want to thank you guys for reading and reviewing and being just plain awesome! I especially want to thank BeingGirl and Qille for all the plot help they gave me, love you guys! Please review! And make sure to check them out, because a lot of their stories are really awesome, alright, I'm rambling now, but this is the last chapter! My last chance to ramble! So I am taking it! I really really appreciate your guys' feedback, so keep that in mind, all you Dragon Trainers out there and…

Well, till the next story!

-Annabeth The Unicorn (:


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